tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963192.post115375184955594408..comments2023-11-03T10:31:19.854+00:00Comments on Assistant Blog: The New ArabiaJonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04267191412203443333noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963192.post-1155308880476426092006-08-11T16:08:00.000+01:002006-08-11T16:08:00.000+01:00kool to hear u like the positive changes taking pl...kool to hear u like the positive changes taking place in qatar. u can learn more about education city, www.qf.edu.qa ...fire alarmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17601676118025784718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963192.post-1154006076320743782006-07-27T14:14:00.000+01:002006-07-27T14:14:00.000+01:00Hi Dan and Jonathon,Some really interesting points...Hi Dan and Jonathon,<BR/><BR/>Some really interesting points there. It's good to see some lefty blogging that isn't tainted with the islamophobia you see elsewhere. You seem to have open rather than closed minds.<BR/><BR/>I see the latest part of the world service radio show is up on their website now, by the way. Egypt this time.<BR/><BR/>IainAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963192.post-1153913018034056882006-07-26T12:23:00.000+01:002006-07-26T12:23:00.000+01:00Really interesting post, Dan. A few thoughts havin...Really interesting post, Dan. A few thoughts having read it, though...<BR/><BR/>(i) Yes, Iran feels cornered by Western hostility; but on the other hand, when since '79 has Iran enjoyed this much influence in the Middle East itself? Not only does it enjoy unprecedented influence in the wreckage of Iraq (inconceivable previously), but also in Lebanon and even Palestine. Asher Susser, who is the head of Middle Eastern Studies at Tel-Aviv University, says that in the last few years "A historic change in the balance of power has taken place [of an order] that has not happened since the 7th century". Iran has been the beneficiary.<BR/><BR/>(ii). Fascinating points about Qatar and the spread of progressive education. It's worth quoting the source of the info I passed off as my own in (i), here. In this week's New Statesman <A HREF="http://www.newstatesman.com/nssubsfilter.php3?newTemplate=NSArticle_NS&newDisplayURN=200607240027" REL="nofollow">Rageh Omar points out</A> that:<BR/><BR/>"Iran's restless population of 70 million - two thirds of whom are under the age of 30 - know that demographics will prevent any future government turning the clock back. This is also a country where more than 60 percent of university students are women. Moral and religious edicts cannot negate the incremental freedoms won by reformers over the last eight years".<BR/><BR/>(iii) Again, from Omar, "Iran does not conform to the stereotype presented by politicians in Washinton and London, who describe it as a pariah, isolated by economic sanctions, and boxed in by US and British forces in neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan."<BR/><BR/>(iv) None of which is meant to present Iran as friendly or progressive, or less of a threat to world peace. But you have to wonder at the path the country has taken in the last few years and wonder why it has happened. If Bush had followed Clinton's lead and pursued a Middle East peace deal rather than - as <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1830180,00.html" REL="nofollow">Jonathan Freedland puts it</A> - tried "to bomb people into democracy", would Iran enjoy the prestige and power it currently does? Would it have embarked on its increasingly theocratic bent? Or have these things happened because the foreign policy pursued by the American and British administrations was so woefully short-sighted and misguided?Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04267191412203443333noreply@blogger.com